WARNING: This story contains discusses sexual harassment.

The university community is calling institutions to do better at preventing and responding to bullying, harassment, and sexual violence on campuses.

'Listen to your students'

Thiyona Singh, co-president of the University of Auckland branch of Thursdays in Black, said while some progress had been made over the years, basics were still lagging.

"I think at times you feel some progress is being made, we're heading in the right direction and then another story comes out and you just think, oh, well, are we really moving forward? Are we taking a couple of steps back?"

The group is part of a student-led campaign working towards eliminating rape and sexual violence from tertiary spaces.

In 2017, the national group surveyed students and launched its first report, exposing widespread prevalence of sexual violence on Aotearoa's campuses.

Last year, the University of Auckland branch surveyed students again and concluded: "The core issues remain unresolved."

One hundred and twenty responses were collected from students across tertiary institutions in Auckland, and Singh said among them were stories about improper consent education, confusing reporting process, complaints swept under the rug, and the lack of accountability within institutions.

She said students deserved to feel safe and listened to by their universities.

"If we truly want to fight against sexual violence and we truly want to achieve a world where we don't have to beg for things like consent education or just for people to believe us when we share our stories, everyone needs to get involved. Everyone is accountable for it."

The report concluded by urging changes through better consent education, more visible reporting process, and stronger accountability within institutions. Singh said it was asking for the basics.

"Universities are such highly regarded institutions. And as students, we pay a lot of fees towards being able to go to these universities and to have these opportunities. To me, it is the bare minimum for these big institutions to have these policies in place."

She said polices about victim survivor welfare were often made without their presence, and she wanted leaderships to reconsider how they made decisions.

"Listen to your students. Listen to what they are calling for and do something about it ... The way things are is not working. "

Another group has made similar demands.

In 2020, Stop Sexual Harm on Campus (SSHOC) wrote an open letter to Universities New Zealand - the vice chancellor's committee and statutory body responsible for quality assurance in the university sector.

The letter called for a list of actions, including reviewing the use of non-disclosure agreements, considering independent investigation of sexual harassment complaints, and supporting members of universities to commit to prevention efforts.

Nicola Gaston, a professor in physics and author of Why Science is Sexist, was part of the group.

Gaston said not much had changed since then.

"If anything, I think the environment has gotten more difficult for survivors of harassment to speak out."

She said the problem was not constrained to Aotearoa.

With the political climate and attacks on universities across the globe, it was now harder to have conversations about sexism and racism on campuses, she said.

Universities New Zealand has not responded to RNZ's inquiry by the publication of this story.

'Not a standard HR environment'

Gaston says universities were "not a standard HR environment" and existing policies were often not fit for purpose.

"My personal feeling is that universities lean too much into treating these issues as employment matters rather than as health and safety matters, which is what they really are when looked at from the point of view of a victim or a survivor."

She said often perpetrators were repeat offenders, and not handling a complaint correctly risked the welfare of other staff and students.

Richard Easther, a physics professor at University of Auckland, said power imbalances and the nicheness of research made academia a particularly challenging environment for victim survivors.

"It's not like they can simply move to another place in the way that a young lawyer, say, who's finding that a senior partner is being difficult, that's still going to be traumatic, but there will be other places where that person can seek employment. But in the case of many academic fields, you might even be looking to move to another country."

In 2017, the American Geophysical Union redefined "scientific misconduct" to include harassment, bullying, and discrimination, recognising the harm these behaviours could cause to science.

Easther said sexual harassment had significant impact on victims, and needed to be taken more seriously in academia.

"Anything that happens in the career of a young scientist that might derail them or slow them, that is like a young sports person having an injury at a crucial stage in their career. And this is a headwind that will blow very much in the faces of women who are trying to participate in the field, but not so much in men. And so if we're concerned about participation in science, and particularly in physical sciences, then this is something we have to take very seriously."

And after over two decades spent in the field, he'd like to see more academics speak up for their community.

"I think it's easier than people think. Obviously, I try to be measured about what I say in public. But I think once you do realise that you're established, then I think it's absolutely incumbent on you to make it easier for everybody and you should be sharing your success with others."

Where to get help:

• Need to Talk? Free call or text 1737 any time to speak to a trained counsellor, for any reason.
• Lifeline: 0800 543 354 or text HELP to 4357.
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 / 0508 TAUTOKO. This is a service for people who may be thinking about suicide, or those who are concerned about family or friends.
• Depression Helpline: 0800 111 757 or text 4202.
• Samaritans: 0800 726 666.
• Youthline: 0800 376 633 or text 234 or email talk@youthline.co.nz.
• What's Up: 0800 WHATSUP / 0800 9428 787. This is free counselling for 5 to 19-year-olds.
• Asian Family Services: 0800 862 342 or text 832. Languages spoken: Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, and English.
• Rural Support Trust Helpline: 0800 787 254.
• Healthline: 0800 611 116.
• Rainbow Youth: (09) 376 4155.
• OUTLine: 0800 688 5463.

If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

Sexual Violence

• NZ Police.
• Victim Support 0800 842 846.
• Rape Crisis: 0800 88 33 00.
• Rape Prevention Education.
• Empowerment Trust.
• HELP (Auckland): 09 623 1700, (Wellington): 04 801 6655.
• Safe to talk: 0800 044 334.
• Tautoko Tāne Male Survivors Aotearoa.
• Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) 022 344 0496.